Ciaran
Ciaran is an Astartes of the Twilight Shadows Chapter and a Watch Captain of the Deathwatch Watch Fortress Malepertus. Born on the Twilight Shadows Home World of Scáth, Ciaran is something of an oddity of a officer due to his preference for operating alone. History The Twilight Shadows are a Astartes Chapter focused on gathering and hoarding information. Little is known about the life of even their most distinguished officers. Like all Twilight Shadows Ciaran was born on Scáth, a dim colorless world and follows the tradition of using a false name. Thus Ciaran is almost certainly not his birth name though for all uses and purposes it is his name. The earliest records of Ciaran are when he was already a fully fledged Astartes, serving in a Tactical squad focused on stealth to sabotage enemy defenses. From trapping traitor artillery, to bombing Ork tanks and Gargants, much of his actions would hardly seem glorious by the standards of other Space Marine Chapters despite his impressive kill count. Infiltrator After 30 years of service, Ciaran would be nominated for a unique and dangerous position within his chapter; Infiltrator. Unlike the Tactical squad he had previously served on, Infiltrators worked alone, (that in itself is unusual for Astartes), and instead of focusing on sabotage, worked more like assassins. Instead of planting bombs or Teleport homers or finding intel, Infiltrators focus on killing as many enemies (preferably commanders) as they can before being discovered. While extraordinarily useful for their ability to kill enemy commanders and greatly respected by the Chapter, many other Chapters look down on such cowardly tactics. Furthermore, unlike other marines who rely on their squad mates, once discovered, Infiltrators have almost no support from the rest of the Chapter and have only their owl wit, will, and equipment to rely upon to survive, often in the heart of the enemy. For 30 more years Ciaran braved mission after mission, coming near to death countless times. Once after killing a Ork Warboss, Ciaran was discovered by the horde as it descended into infighting. After losing vox contact with Ciaran for a nearly a month as the Orks were being suppressed by the rest of the Chapter and Imperial Guard forces the Chapter was forced to declare him killed in action. Less than a week later Ciaran would walk into a Imperial Guard camp, clad in armor shattered beyond recognition and covered in wounds ranging from burns to lacerations. This led to the story among the guard of the unkillable Space Marine who stalked in the shadow of Death. First Deathwatch Service Being pressed by the Deathwatch to second marines for service, the Chapter Master of the Astartes decided to recommend Ciaran. Due to the stories of his kill and durability, he was excepted and inducted in the Deathwatch without hesitation. Given his past history it quickly became obvious what role he was most suited for and assigned to the position of Kill-marine. One set apart for solo actions that do not require the deployment of an entire Kill Team. For the entirety of his 50 years of service he would only call for aid in the field under the most extreme of circumstances. During which time he would also work alongside a great number of non Astartes as he was often deployed in areas not considered important enough to warrant deployment of the already overstretched space marines. He would fight alongside and even lead Rouge Traders, Imperial Guard regiments, Mechanicus fleets, and even Inquisitors. Either to defeat vile Xenos forces, or even just to secure transportation. By the end of those 50 years, Ciaran returned to his chapter notably different. Having spent so long working alongside mortals having changed him. While he still preferred to fight alone, he had gained considerable leadership skills when it came to bringing multiple different forces to work together. Second Deathwatch Service After the Macharian Heresy, when the Deathwatch Watch Fortress Malepertus was established in the Eressa sector, Ciaran's skills were requested again by the Deathwatch, this time to serve as a Watch Captain. Due to his skills of information gathering and analyzing from his training as a Twilight Shadow, Ciaran became the unofficial master of the Watch Fortress's data vaults. Examining every detail of reports brought back by Deathwatch teams or outside sources, Ciaran spends much of his time deciphering Xenos activity and predicting their movements so as to better coordinate Kill-Team activity. On occasion however he does take to the field himself, preferring to go solo due to his experience. He often goes to act as a invisible support to one of his Kill-teams. Several times Kill-teams have been rescued from a tight spot by the unexpected support of their Captian. Personality After having spent so long as a Kill-marine and spending so much time among mortals, Ciaran is unusually friendly to those many marines see as their lesser. Indeed, much of his psychology is different than that of other Marines, a common result of serving as a Kill-marine. Like many Twilight Shadows, he is an expert at gathering, sorting, and examining information. Amounting to a near obsession, Ciaran's knowledge of the sector and it's inhabitants is practically unsurpassed. He is present at almost every briefing and debriefing of members of the Deathwatch, even those not directly under his command. Ultimately at his core, all the years of serving on his own without support of other Astartes have left their toll and he is no longer comfortable serving alongside his brothers. However close he may seem to his fellows, Ciaran works alone. He zealously guards the information he gathers and, while he will share it with those who need it or, (in the case of his fellow captains and commander), request it, only he knows all of it. When he takes to the field, he hunts alone unless commanded otherwise, and expects each squad under him to be capable of accomplishing their tasks without having to call on the Deathwatch for further help. What made him a captain, despite his loner tendencies among his fellow Space Marines is his ability, ironically enough, to unite people of different cultures. As a Kill-marine he commonly worked with and even led forces ranging from Rouge Traders to Imperial Guardsmen. After 50 years of having to get men from dozens of different worlds to work alongside each other he has learned how to even get Astartes from radically different chapters to work together. Appearance Like all of the Twilight Shadows, Ciaran's appearance is almost entirely colorless. With pitch black hair and alabaster skin, the only trace of color is his eyes which are a green so dark they almost appear black. Covering his body and face are countless scars from hundreds of missions and infiltration's. Following Twilight Shadows tradition his armor is almost completely without feature, despite his rank as a Watch captain. A plain black coat with the silver pauldron marking him as a member of the Deathwatch, he prefers to wear a camoline cloak over his armor in order to make him even harder to see. Abilities and skills Like all the sons of the Raven, Ciaran is a master of stealth. An unusual skill for many Astartes outside the scouts, Ciaran forgoes challenging hordes head on in favor of surgical strikes. Often the enemies of the Imperium find their leaders dead with nothing but a trail of corpses to explain it. On the occasion that Ciaran is discovered by the enemy, he is more than capable of fighting his way out. Like many Twilight Shadows Infiltrators Ciaran prefers close quarters combat and is expert in killing quickly and quietly. More unusual is his skill in handling and deciphering information. Mounting to a near obsession, Ciaran spends hours every day, pouring over information brought in from all over the sector in order to predict the actions of the myriad Xenos plaguing the Eressa sector. His predictions are reviews and augmented by numerous trained savants within the Watch Fortress before being relayed to Kill Teams assigned to counter threats or, if they are serious enough, to the Watch Captain. Wargear Like all Watch Captains, Ciaran is equipped with some of the best weaponry available in the Imperium. Ironically, much of his Wargear was brought from his home chapter. * ''Shaded Armor ''- Worn by only the most elite of the Twilight Shadows, Shaded Armor is unique Artificer armor that utilizes a strange metal called Dorchtine. The strange metal, mined from a moon of the Twilight Shadow's home world, absorbs both light and sound. Shaded Armor incorporates the metal in such a way as to not weaken its durability while also muffling any movement. When he was appointed Watch Captain, Ciaran had his set upgraded with Deathwatch-grade auspexes. * ''Dorchtine Lightning Claw ''- Using only one to keep his other hand free for other weapons, this power claw is the other piece of wargear brought from his home chapter. Utilizing a pre-heresy design, (claws are an extension of fingers), the Dorchtine not only silences the hum and absorbs the glow normally emitted by power weapons, but also silences strikes. * ''Adamantine Mantle ''- Difficult to make and uncommon, Adamantine mantles are useful relics among the Deathwatch. Ciaran had his given an extra outer layer of Camoline to give it a degree of stealth as well as protection. * 'Stalker Pattern Silenced Bolt Pistol '- An odd addition to his wargear, his favored bolt pistol is of a model clearly from the Space Wolves chapter. Ciaran holds that he found it in the Deathwatche's armory during his first service. 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